The clouds of confusion were drifting through Sid's mind; it was like open-eyed nightmares. The ground below him was dragging him down to the world of pointlessness. Desires are the only cause of misery. Therefore, become desireless: these words kept on muddling his mind. Is that all you get when you're spiritual? End up in the Himalayas?

The sobering reality that he encountered was he doesn't know anything about spiritual truths. His head was now on the verge to erupt like a volcano, bursting anxiety and Cimmerian feelings.

As you know, Nehali has a nickname for him, but now it should be replaced by Gloomy Gus. This overdose of bleakness made him wonder why in the world he's after the knowledge which is so inconceivable?

The world is full of problems, correct, but we do have a desire to make it better. And then you reconcile it with this statement: desires are the only cause of misery, therefore, become desireless. It's like saying hunger is the sole cause of starvation. Thus, one must become hungerless.

Perplexity was the only thing that was cuddling his heart and soul.

This incident made the fact clear to him how difficult it is to cut off your attachment. His fingers reached toward his temple, rubbing the strain off.

He shot a glance out of the car's window and caught sight of the greenery falling behind.

This scene reminded him of those sweet family vacations, sitting to the window seat of their car, and see clouds traveling along with them. Those were the real days, no worry about any damn thing). The flowing air tore through his hair as he leaned toward the window.

Sid glanced at the driver's finger, which scanned the radio station and stopped it on 93.4, the song started with a guitar sequence. Sid couldn't figure out why but the music was somewhat working as an antidepressant to his bleak mood. A perfect example of how music can alter your mood.

Everybody's talkin' at me

I don't hear a word they're saying

Only the echoes of my mind

People stopping staring

I can't see their faces

Only the shadows of their eyes

Ravi nudged him. "Did you like the philosophy?"

A throe of agony constricted Sid's heart, spiraling up to his throat. He made sure his expression doesn't convey glumness across his face. "I don't know," he spoke in a loud voice.

"I just loved it, man. In fact, I could relate to-" Ravi's voice trailed off, and it didn't even kill him to realize that his best friend only heard "echoes of the mind."

More than echoes, Sid would put them as zombies. In the mental realm, he ran with all his vim to escape the zombie of moroseness, who sprinted at him and bit his mind. The zombie of anxiety charged at his right to bite off his head and to tear his limbs with its yellowish teeth and to turn him as one of them rather his emotions a walking dead.

Sid... Sid... Are you even listening? These words came at Sid like a whistle of the train, snapping him out as if someone has thrown cold water on his face.

"Yup. Good for you." Sid mumbled a few words at last, but he lied because not a single word went into his head.

Although Ravi was speaking continuously like a girl chewing the fat with her best friend, only a few words caught Sid's attention since his mind was journeying to different alleys. With the same mood, he reached home.

****

"I'm home," he said as he dropped his college bag on the couch. Neha was there to greet him with an affectionate smile. Aw, here's my boy after studying hard.

"How was your field trip?" Neha asked, looking curious to hear details from her son. Sid had lied about Greenland as a field trip.

"It was good. Learned something out of the world." Sid avoided eye contact and headed to his bedroom.

While walking up, his eyes scanned every corner of his home dearly as if he visited this house for the first time. After all, that's going to be a mystery when he shall see it again. No! No! No! No! No one's departing to the Himalayas. Not yet.

"Sid? Do you want me to make your favorite soup?" Neha's voice came from the hall room.

Sid sat upright on his bed. "Okay, I'm coming." Yes, have it for the last time. No! No! No! Buzz off, stupid mind.

Sid drank his favorite soup, sipped and savored every ingredient mixed in it. And most importantly, the sweetest component of love which his mother poured into it.

A mixed feeling blocked his heart, landing him on the horns of the dilemma. He did crave to seek the truth, but cutting off his worldly attachment and setting out on the journey of self-journey was an impractical option.

He desired, no wished to learn the truth of life, but not on the cost of quitting his family. Nevertheless, it was a staggering fact that yogis of the past left their family to search for the absolute truth. Or else how they would bestow their nuggets of wisdom upon the world?

How can one's sacrifice for the higher cause bring supreme auspiciousness to the masses?

That's how the world works. Tears of one person are the cause of a hundred's smiles. But I'm no hero; my life is goalless, purposeless, and meaningless. His eyes were on the brink to shed tears. "I can't leave anything. Neither my family nor my things."

A stream of tears rolled from his eyes as he closed them, wanting sleep to take him away; the only way which would make him feel normal again.

*****

Things were not that meaningless for Nehali, as she was walking to the cafeteria; there was a smile on her lips. It was genuine, not the one she wears to enhance her public relations.

While living this dual life, she realized one undeniable fact that college life is excellent as compared to job life. Here you get the authority to be free (just like right now, for instance). The professor who takes biology class was absent today.

Woohoo! It means she's got plenty of free time. Her friends invited her to hang out with them, but having a title of "the most studious and sincere student," refrained her from joining them.

She stepped into the cafeteria with a smile, and the first thing her eyes saw was Sid. A thought touched her mind: Does this guy never attend the first lecture? She, however, felt an urge forming inside her heart, and it was attracting her towards this boy. This boy, umm, is not like a boy next door. His words are esoteric, but you'd always misattribute his expression to naivety.

"Hey smartass, uh no, what was that? Wisenheimer!" Nehali launched into a diatribe. "Attending the first lecture is not a cup of your tea?" she voiced her original thought; instead of sitting table next to Sid, she chose to sit with him. Sid did try to smile, but it came out just as awkward lip movement.

"I usually attend it, but—" Sid's voice trailed off, and his mood become down in the dumps, launching moroseness back into his mind. He gathered himself up and continued, "The professor, he's on leave."

Nehali's smile widened into a grin since both of them were here for the same reason. None of them talked for a few minutes, but she caught a glimpse of Sid rubbing his temples. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." She imitated Sid's voice in the same way he told this to her in this same place.

Even if the voice impression was close to awful, but it was enough to break chuckle across Sid's lips. He felt his lips parted after a long time. At least she made him smile in this meaningless world. What if she asked you for a date, would the world still be same?

The spiritual wound was long-lasting this time; it pierced his heart and punctured his spiritual inquisition. "Well, my lemons are tasteless," he muttered and allowed self-pity blend in the smile he manifested.

Nehali pressed her lips together in a thin line with narrowed eyes. "You are a bloody expert at playing with words."

Only a smirk she received from Sid, which made it clear to her that there's something wrong with this boy. An urge of curiosity rose within her heart to inquire, but she suppressed it.

The happy look on her face died down like a faded rose; she started fiddling with the pen to act casual. Then dug headphones into her ears and busied herself in writing assignments.

Two guys behind them were watching a YouTube video. However, their discussion about the video was louder than the volume of the video.

"This guy is the son of anarchy, bro, I'm telling you," a chubby, short-haired guy said with a terrified look.

His friend was watching with awe. "Who's this guy? And why he has so many views on his videos?" he asked.

The short-haired guy hesitated before taking the name of the speaker. "Well, they call him Modern Ecclesiastes."

"Ecstasy what?" the other guy snapped.

Sid tore off his attention from these guys and tried to establish a conversation with Nehali, who was bored to tears. Right then, the short-haired guy added: "He says everything is ultimately meaningless in this world. Your life, your relationships, your dreams, and everything." This statement re-spawned Sid's attention back into these guys' conversation. "Just hear his speech."

A knot in stomach made Sid's throat dry; he heard something which was resonating a lot with his situation at this point. He was only able to listen to the intimidating voice of that man in the video. His imaginative prowess, however, made him stand face to face with Modern Ecclesiastes.

"Vanity of vanities; all is vanity," Modern Ecclesiastes declared to his audience of eight hundred people. Vanity was not kind of pride, especially the type that girls have when they have good looks. Like in school or college, if there's a stuck up girl, other girls would put her down as "vain."

If you thought like this, then you had it wrong. Here Modern Ecclesiastes meant it as meaningless, empty, hollow. "Vanity of vanities" is a superlative. "All is vanity" intended "Everything is meaningless. Everything is pointless."

"School or college doesn't bring any good to you," he continued, "then you start your career, and there's a great probability that you get a nervous breakdown and die. Are you aware of corporate pressure? Life of stress, depressed yet well dressed? It's no life to live; it's simply chasing after the wind. There's no profit under the sun."

Several youths in the audience stared down at him as a freak, who's spitting out gibberish. Modern Ecclesiastes, however, gazed at his audience like a lion looking at its prey. "The government doesn't care for you. All of them are corrupt. Even if you elect a good government, within no time it become corrupt like its predecessor."

A smile graced his lips, but it was incomplete. Many have named it as Mona Lisa smile. He was smiling, but he was not. You'd find it inconceivable to judge his thoughts with expressions; most of the time, you'll wonder, does this guy even have emotions? You would be leaping from one conclusion to another like a monkey, and in the end, you will say, "Vanities of vanity. All is vanity."

"What if I told you that democracy is just to keep you like programmed machines." Modern Ecclesiastes was now more intense with his speech. "In this new age, you are mere puppets. The whole idea was to give you an illusion of freedom of speech and opinion, whereas, in reality, you're just acting according to the media manipulation. The media will show only those news which suit their vested interest. They will trigger your hatred against one community by manipulating and exaggerating facts."

Modern Ecclesiastes was walking right to the left and left to the right, a public-speaking technique that keeps viewers eyes engaged. "They are hungry for the blasted TRPs, but this dirty game leaves you with a mind filled with negativity and anger towards those you never met."

He stopped in the middle of the stage and peered at the audience, threatening with his intense eyes. "The number of people killed in human-made destruction is lesser than those committing suicide. Why is humankind not happy despite tremendous scientific advancement? We have become more depressed than ever, which is why the world's ready to spend hundreds of billions. And you are presented with the lie of living in a most advanced civilization. Your every 'opinion' is a part of predominating propaganda. And you are living with a lie; you have the rights to raise your voice. Bit by bit, we are heading towards the end of the world."

Modern Ecclesiastes' eyes caught sight of a guy sitting in the first row, who probably the most affected. Dribbles of sweat trickled down his forehead. Modern Ecclesiastes' fixated his eyes on this guy.

"When time will come, you know, these liberals, nationalists, and politicians will bite off each other to the bone in the name of religion and country."

Modern Ecclesiastes shifted his attention back to everyone. "I know it's inconceivable for you all. Many probably couldn't make head or tail of what I'm saying. You've been fed with myths of everything's gonna be alright; the truth will triumph, the world will change and be a better place to live. Isn't that all motivational speakers tell you?" He stood freeze for a moment and closed his eyes as if in meditation. "Just go deep in your mind and think if there was a time when the world was at peace — war after war after war. Endless massacre. They stocked you with lies since time immemorial." He opened his eyes slowly and gazed upon every person at his sight. "Let me tell you the upfront truth. The world is never going to change, no matter how many Jesus, Muhammad, or Krishna will come. Because..."

Modern Ecclesiastes paused dramatically. "Because the world is ... meaningless. Don't you trust me? Look me in the eye, and I'll show you the truth."

The video ended with a blackout, and Sid was brought back to senses.

"Now here's the big news," the short-haired guy said to his friend. "Out of eight hundred attendees in this seminar, about six hundred went missing."

The guy's eyes doubled in size, the same was Sid's reaction. "He's banned, right? Have cops put him behind the bar already?"

The short-haired guy gave him the Mona-Lisa smile. "No one can harm him. Don't you see this man is a psychic!?"

"Stop. Watching. His. Videos. Danny. Or else I'll tell your parents you've been obsessed with this freak-Modern Ecclesiastes-a lot lately."

Little of it Danny's friend or Sid could imagine that two days later Danny went missing either.

*****

A/N: A story is incomplete with an antagonist. So here, I presented the antagonist. Of course, the next two chapters will be focusing on his life. I hope you liked this chapter.